Chapter I

Socio-Economic Setting of Dalits

The Dalits in India, traditionally known as 'Panchamas' or

untouchables, and now called Scheduled Castes by the legal

dispensation of the country, have always born the brunt of the caste

system. The present work is confined to the political aspirations of

Dalits in Andhra Pradesh, one of the twenty-five states forming the

Indian Union, and stretching on the eastern coast of its mainland. Their

intense and widespread discontent is a mirror to the socio-economic

reality of present-day Andhra society. This chapter seeks to explain the

Dalits' post-independence social position and changing conditions. It

also seeks to analyse the role of independent India vis-a-vis the condition

of the Dalits and to see how far its preferential measures have accounted

for the socio-economic changes and the shaping of Dalit consciousness.

A study of any social movement demands that the factors that

have motivated its historically must be explained. Hence, before going

into the details of the Dalits' socio-economic conditions it would be

necessary to note briefly the historical roots of the Dalit movement in

Andhra.

Historical Roots

Dalit identity and consciousness is profoundly rooted in the

remote past of the Andhra tradition itself. lt mainly emanated from the

multiple historical factors and legacies of the Andhra region: of

Buddhism, Basava's Veerasaivism, Hindu social reformism, the material

conditions created by the colonial rule, the propagation and

23

proselytization of Christianity and Islam, the mass radical anti-colonial

assertion. All these have profoundly influenced the Dalit movem~nt.

The Buddha's historical revolt around the fifth century B.C.

against the Aryan Brahminism and its caste system was a profound

impulse of struggle for freedom and humanism. In Ambedkar's view, it

"was a social and political revolution". 1 The Encyclopaedia of Marxism

and Communism referred to it as the "movement of the poor and

ideology of suffering masses, as well as an embodiment of revolutionary

protest and revolutionary hopes". The Buddha's movement was

regarded "not as religion, but as a popular philosophy which was created

by the masses in an era of social crisis".2 It was basically a Bahujan

Sangha, a philosophical alternative to Brahminism and its individualistic

rapaciousness. The Buddha negated the social hegemony of Brahminism

and its chaturvama caste hierarchy. He prudently aimed at reorganizing

the hitherto neglected outcasts, Chandalas, Sudras, peasants and women,

who had been perennially subjected to the cosmic doctrine of Karma,

~ifa dea3:re~chh'at" all rilen aT~ b~rn equal.

Buddhism as a universal humanist philosophy had a profound

influence on Andhra society. According to historical sources, even as

Andhra began its existence as a separate country under the Satavahanas,

the first historical ruling dynasty of the region around the third century

B.C., Andhra was a strong base for Buddhist culture. Emperor Ashoka

of the third century B.C., who converted to Buddhism, noted his

1 B.R. Arnbedkar. Writin~s and .\"peeches. vol.) (Education Department. Government of Maharashtra. Bombay. I 979 ). p. 15).

~ A.farxism. Communism and Western .\"ociety: A Comparative Encyclopeclia. C.D. Kerniof (ed.). (Herder and Herder. New York. 1973). vol. VI. p. :Hl(>.

24

connection with Andhra in his ·rock edict near Gooty. 3 The numerous

ancient Buddhist inscriptions throughout Andhradesa, at Battiprolu,

Gantasala, Guntupalli, Amaravathi and Nagarjunakonda reveal an

illustrious Buddhist culture with popular appeal.4 Though the ruling

dynasties were indifferent to Buddhism, and though they patronized

Vedic rituals and sacrifices, Buddhism spread rapidly in their"time and

held sway for nearly a thousand years. 5 Because of the deep roots of

Buddhism in Andhradesa, a distinctive version of Buddhism singular to

the region, called Nagarjuna Buddhism, emerged in due course.

According to historical sources, the enthusiastic social base for

Buddhism in ancient Andhra came largely from the merchants, artisans

and the untouchable Dalits who took to Buddhism as their own religion. 1'

Buddhist culture was generally propagated through the popular stupas or

pillars and monuments. These cultural symbols were raised by the

enthusiastic supporters or patrons who came from all sections of society.

Perhaps the most remarkable among these was the purnaghata slab

··-~do-nated ··by Vidhi"ka, a cobbler wh~ visited the Amaravathi stu pas with

his family. 7 Apparently, the Dalits had an emotional bond with

Buddhism before its eventual decline in Andhradesa.

Next to Buddhism, the most powerful anti-caste, anti-Brahmin

movement in the Deccan was Basava's Veerasaivism. Basava, who

K. R. Subramanian. Buddhist. Remains in Andhra and the IIi story of Andhra between 225 and 610 A.D. (Diocesan Press. Madras. 1932). p. ~-

B.S.L Hanumantha Rao. "Patrons of Andhra Buddhism". in Andhra /'radesh llistory Congress Proceedings. Nth ,\'ession. Kakinada. I<JH4.

' Ibid.

''Ibid. 7 Ibid

25

lived in the twelfth century, revolted against the social evils of the c~ste

system and Hindu religious rituals and sacrifices. 11 In medieval Andhra,

Brah.minism with its temple-centred agrarian economic structure led to a

highly distorted socio-economic structure. The land, the principal means

of production, was the monopoly of the Brahmins and upper castes. A

huge amount of cultivable land was diverted through Agraharas (land

gifted to the temple) which was free from taxes.9 The Sudra castes were

assigned to cultivate these lands. The Dalits, as outcastes of society,

stayed outside the villages, restricted to work that was polluting. The

caste and temple-based economic exploitation degraded the Sudras and

Dalits and made them destitute. Basava's Veerasaivism offered them an

alternative from their economic and socio-cultural suffocation under

dominant Brah.minism.

Brahmanayudu, who was the chief minister of Nalagama (AD

1170) of Palanadu (Guntur district) was influenced by the sweeping

Veerasaiva movement and its humanistic principles of equality and

rationality., He was a non-Brahmin Sudra and started radical anti-caste,

anti-Brahmin socio-religious reformism. Brahmanayudu took a manful

initiative to fight social evils. As part of his endeavour to spread the

consciousness of brotherhood and fraternity, he extensively organized

M S. Fuches, Rebellious Prophets: A Study of messianic movements in Indian religions (Asia Publishing House. Bombay, 1965), p.25H.

Y A. Krishnan1orthy Vaidchi. ,_\'ocial and l!..~conornic C"ondition in Eastern Deccan (From A.D. 1000 to A.JJ 1250), (Kabccr Printing works, Sccun­derabad, 1970), p. 250.

inter-caste public dining halls called "Chaapakoodu", where even the

Dalits could eat with the upper castes. 10

Many Sudras and untouchables, including Malas and Madigas

converted to Veerasaivism, prominent among them being Katakota (who

was a Golla, shepherd), Machayya (Dhobi), Gundaiah (Potter).

Guddavva a well-known untouchable woman devotee. 11 Veerasaivism is

said to have been responsible for the elevation of many untouchables

from polluting to non-polluting work in the caste-ridden social order.

Kannamadasu, an untouchable, became the · highest ranking military

officer under Brahmanayudu and played a significant role in capturing

Nayakuralu Nagamma, the rival royal feudatory ofNalagama. 12

In the early nineteenth-century Andhradesa there were also many

non-Hindu alternative semi-religious cults all of them emanating from

the lower castes. They were basically anti-caste and anti-Hinduism.

Important among them were the Nasaraiah sect and Pothuluri

Veerabramham. The Nasaraiah sect, 13 founded by Nasaraiah, was

popular among Madigas in northern Andhra. Nasaraiah was influenced

by the Islamic principles of egalitarianism and humanism. He tried to

emulate a mode! ~~ lslaua as an emancipatory doctrine for the

untouchables. His main tenets were social equality, good moral conduct,

1° K. Padma Rao. Caste and Alternative culture (The Gurkul Lutheran Theological College and Research Institute. Madras. 1995). p.l12.

II Ibid. 1 ~ Vaidehi_. p. 209.

u R.K. Kshersagar. Dalit Aluvement in India and its Leaders (IH/'\--I95o). (MD publication. New Delhi. 19'J·O. p. 42.

worship of only one god, discarding of idol worship, and unity among

the untouchables. 14

Pothuluri Veerabrarnharn's teachings, which seemed to have a

deeper, more far-reaching and purer doctrinal content than any other, 15

exerted a tremendous attraction on members of the lower castes,

particularly the untouchables and Sudra artisan classes. Pothuluri ·

Veerabrarnharn, who was seen by his admirers and followers as an anti­

caste, anti-untouchable rebellious prophet, propagated the theme of one

god and one religion and taught that one should not follow any

distinctions of caste, class and gender in front of god. His attacks on the

caste system, idol worship, animal sacrifice and colossally wasteful

Hindu celebrations were vitriolic. Veerabrarnharn 's teachings were

documented in writing in a kind of socio-cultural literary discourse in

lucid Telugu under the title Kala-gnyanam (Predictive Knowledge). 16

The Christian missionaries also played an important role m

bringing about a change in the status of the Dalits. They were active

~m the early eighteenth century in spreading Christianity and

converting the Hindus, particularly the lower caste untouchables.

According to G. A. Oddie., the Church Missionary Society (CMS), one

of the earliest Christian institutions, worked for massive Christian

proselytization in the Godavari-Krishna districts of Andhra around

1860-1900. 17 The CMS opened numerous English schools which

14 Ibid. 1 ~ Fuches. p.260. 16

See V. Ramakrishna . . \'ocial Reform in Andhra (/8-IH-/9/9). Vikas Publishing House. New Delhi. 19M3. p. 210.

17 G.A. Oddie. "Christian Conversion in the Telugu Country. 1960-1900: A case study of one protest movement in the Godavari-Krishna Delta". in

28

welcomed both caste Hindus and untouchables. These schools also

became doorways to the proselytization process. The number of

baptized untouchables steadily rose, from I ,650 (in 1869) to 3,500

(1882), to 9,000 ( 1885), to 22,000 ( 1905).111

The CMS mission prepared

the ground for mass conversions. According to another study, the

number of Christian converts in Andhra region rose from 172,319

during 1891 to 43 I ,324 in 1921. In the Telengana region, the converts

from the ranks of the Dalits were 3,992 in 1896, which number rose to

37,000 by 1920. 19 For the Dalits, the visibly friendly, affable behaviour

of the missionaries would have been in marked contrast to the inhuman

treatment meted out to them by the caste Hindus, inducing these large­

scale conversions.

Contributing to the changes in the plight of the Dalits was the

process of reform initiated by the Hindu social, prominent among whom

was Sri Kandukuri Veereshalingam Panthulu ( 1848-1919). These

reformers inveigled against the orthodox practices of bride price, child

marriage, sati and caste practices. They asked the orthodox Hindus to

treat Dalits as human beings and felloWmen. Panthulu started the

sJ:ruggle against child marriage and also took the initiative for widow

remarriage. Sri Kandukuri· Veereshalingaum opened a school for the

Panchama children with a liberal grant of Rs. 70,000 from the Maharaja

of Pithapuram, Sri Rao Venkata Mahipate Surya Bahadur ( 1885-

1965). 20 The Maharaja himself established two hostels and four primary

The Indian Economic and Social 1/istory Uel'iew. Januar~'-lllarch. 1975. vol. XII. no. I. pp. (d-7'>.

IX Ibid.

1'' Kshcrsagar. p. 1X I.

~"Ibid.

2'J

schools for Dalit children?' Among others who worked for social

reform were Chilakamarthi Laxmi Narasimham. Raghupati Venkata

Ratnam N_aidu, Narala Setti Devendnudu, Vemula Kurmayya, Guduri

Rama chandra Rao, Vemuri Ramji Rao, Nallapati Hanumantha Rao, and

Vellanki Krishna Murthi?2 Hindu reformist organizations like the Arya

samaj and Brahmo Samaj, also actively worked and contributed to the

emergence of Dalit consciousness. Reformers like Rai Balmukund, Baji

Krishna Rao, Justice Keshav Rao and Vamana Rao Naik23 were also

active in trying to mitigate certain evils in Hindu society. They were not,

however, for an alternative ideological and institutional form against

Brahminism or Hinduism.

The Dalit movement m Andhra also took its inspiration from

Mahatma Jyotiba Phule's Satya Shodhak Samaj movement m

Maharashtra;24 Periyar Ramaswami Naicker' s non-Brahmin movement

in Tamil Nadu;25 and Sri Narayana Guru's and Sri Ayyan Kali's social

reform ·struggles in Kerala.26 These early Dalit human rights movements

not only· targeted caste and Brahminism but also the colonial British

administration. They questioned the authority of the Vedas and other

Hindu sacred texts which brought about the inhuman caste system. They

traced logically the nexus between the colonial Britishers and the native

:. Ibid.

:: Tarakam. Telugunadulo Samskarnodhyamam (Telugu), (Andhra Pradesh Sahitya Academy, Hydcrabad. 1976), p. 9.

~3

- Kshersagar. p. 382.

:~ See Gail Omvedt. .. Jotirao Phule and the Ideology of Social Revolution in India ... Economic and Political Weekly (henceforth EPW), September.

~,

-· Sec N. Ram, .. Dravida Movement in its pre-Independence Phases ... Economic and /'olitical Weekly, February I 'J79 (Annual Number).

:6 See Kshers~gar.

30

upper caste rulers, and asserted that both descended from the Aryan

race, to exploit the non-Aryan, Dravidian Sudras and Ati-Sudras. 27 They

also raised their voice against 1he upper castes who dominated the

colonial administration and their maintenance of deceptive land

accounts which prevented the Sudras and Dalits from owing land.

Along with the mass radical anti-colonial struggle, the Dalits in

Andhradesa started the autonomous · Adi-Andhra' self-respect 211 movement. Before Ambedkar' s powerful ideological entry into

Andhradesa, the ground for Dalit consciousness and identity was laid by

some of these 'Adi-Andhra' leaders, the foremost among whom was

Madari Bhagaiah; popularly known as Bhagya Reddy Verma ( 1888-

1939).

Bhagya Reddy Verma endlessly engaged himself m

conscientizing the Dalits as to their identity and plight. Unlike most

other reformers, he campaigned against not only the social evils but the

root -of those evils, that is, Hinduism and its caste order. He formed a

Jagan Mitra Mandali in 1906, perhaps the first Dalit popular

organization in Andhra Pradesh started by the Dalits.29 A politico­

cultural propaganda weapon to educate the Dalits through popular

folklore, the Mandali injected a new awakening among the Dalits.30 In

~7 See Slavery, Collected Works of ;\lahatma Jotirao /'hule, Vol. I.

Translated by P_G. Patil (Education Department: Government of Maharashtra. Bombay. 1991) particularly introduction by Phule.

2w See Gail Omvedt. /Jalits and the /)emocratic Revolution_· /Jr. Amhedkar

and the /)a/it !l.fovement in Colonial India (Sage Publications. New Delhi. I 994 )_

:!<J Kshersagar~ pp. 179-H I. 30 Ibid_

ll

1911 Bhagya Reddy Venna started a Manya Sangham, which was

renamed as the Adi-Hindu Social Service League in 192 I. The objective

of the League was to eradicate the social customs which were imposed

on the Dalits by Hinduism. Under the League's auspices another

voluntary organization was also founded, called Swastik Dal. The

league published an English monthly, Panchama, with J.S. Mathaiah as

the editor.

In 1917 the First Provincial Pancharna Mahajana Subha

conference was held at Vijayawada, with Bhagya Reddy Verma as

president and Sundru Venkaiah as the chairman. In his presidential

address Verma argued that the Dalits should be called Adi-Andhras

instead of Panchan1as, and the conference adopted the name of Adi­

Andhra Mahajan Sabha. 31 In later years Bhagya Reddy Verma became

an Ambedkarite and supported separate electorates for the Dalits.

Attracted by the philosophy of lord Buddha, he started celebrating

Buddha Jayanti in 1913. He also started a weekly in Telugu called

Bhagyanagar, later renamed as Adi-Hindu.32 -Bhagya Reddy Verma's

conce!'!! throughout his life was with the ideals of liberty, equality and

fraternity, which made him a natural champion of the Dalits.

The formation of an All-India Scheduled Castes Federation m

1942 under Am bedkar' s leadership and its subsequent entry into the

Andhra Pradesh created an altogether different level of Dalit

consciousness and identity. Many dedicated Dalit leaders emerged and

worked for the formation of Ambedkar's ideology in Andhra Pradesh.

Jl Gail Omvcdt. Da/its and the Democratic Revolution. pp_ll7-IX.

-'2 Tarakam. p. 13.

:n

Prominent among them were Gottipati Brahmayya (Machilipatnam),

B.S. Murthy (East Godavari), Sardar Nagappa (Kumool). Konada Sury~

Prakash Rao (Vijayawada) , Nandanar Harichandra (West Godavari),

M.L. Audiah (Secunderabad), Arigay Ramaswamy (Hyderabad),

Mudigonda Laxmaiah (Hyderabad), B.S. Venkat Rao (Hyderabad) and

J.H. Subbaiah (Secunderabad) .. n

It would be seen from the brief sketch given above of the

growmg Dalit consciousness that from the Buddha to Babasaheb

Ambedkar to Bhagya Reddy Verma there was an organic mner

continuity. The essence of that continuity was the struggle against the

unnatural iniquitous oppressive caste system and its ideology. Their

objective struggle for freedom, equality and fraternity, their strategy for

an alternative social order where there would not be any kind of

oppression, was significant. Their very names have become powerful

influencing ideological symbols for the present-day Dalit movement in

Andhra Pradesh.

Socio-economic Conditions

Geographically, Andhra Pradesh may be divided into three

distinct regions, namely coastal Andhra, Rayalaseema and Telengana,

with coastal ~ndhra far more advanced socio-economically than the

other two. This geographical unevenness in tum has had a profound

impact on the socio-economic and politico-cultural aspects of the Dalits.

Coastal Andhra has nine districts. Among the many factors that

contributed to its growth the foremost were the innovative construction

33 Sec Kshcrsagar, p.310.

:n

of major inigation anicuts on the Krishna and Godavari rivers m the

early nineteenth century which paved the way for rapid

commercialization of agriculture, the early Christian missionary English

education which provided new social reformist ideas at the beginning of

the twentieth century, and the post-independence introduction of the

green revolution.34 Having witnessed these dynamic structural changes,

the Dalits in coastal Andhra have been relatively more assertive than the

rest ofthe Dalits in the State.

The four districts that constitute Rayalaseema are m the most

backward and chronically famine-affected drought-prone region. The

region's historical backwardness, in the words of G.N. Rao, is on

account of the ruthless operation of the colonial interests, a hostile eco­

system and missed opportunities for agricultural and industrial

advancement.-~5 The Dalits in this region have played a limited role in

their socio-political assertion. The Telengana region, with its ten

districts, has near conformity with Rayalaseema. Most of the region is

highly backward despite its rich natural resources. Some districts like

Hyderabad and Ranga Reddy do, however, have some industrial

establishments.

J4 Sec V. Ramakrishna. op. cil: Omvcdl: for socio-economic changes sec:

G. Haragopal. "'Evolulion of Modern Andhra: A Socio-economic Perspective", in Andhra Pradesh lfistory Congress Proceedings of the 9th Session. Kurnoo/, /9H5: G.N. Rao. "Transilion in lhc Agrarian Economy of Andhra··. in Andhra l'rndesh 1/istorv Congress /'roceedings of the TweUih ,\'ession. Annkapal/e, /9/'\X: M. Pallabhirami Rcdd~·.

··Aspects of Awakening in lhe l'Jth Century Andhra". Andhrn /'radeslt 1/istory Congress /'roceeclings /97-. Nellore.

J~ G .N . R a o. ibid .

The Dalits in Andhra Pradesh have been stratified into numerous

sub-castes based essentially on occupations and related status.

According to the Census of India 1991, there were as many as 59 Dalil

sub-castes in the state and their estimated population was 1.05 crore,

which constitutes 15.9 per cent of the state population.36 These sub­

castes were directly or indirectly offshoots of two major sub-castes,

namely Ma<Jiga, Mala, plus a distinct Dalit identity calling themselves

Adi-Andhra. The Adi-Andhra are not a sub-caste, but a secular radical

identity conceptualized by the Dalits during the early twentieth century

against not only the hegemonic Hindu identity but also against the

sectarian identity of Madiga, Mala, etc. According to the census of

1991, there were 50,12,936 Madigas, 51,57,748 Malas and 4,21,382

other sub-castes. Every single Dalit sub-caste has its own specific social

d · I h" n an occupatwna I story.·

Article 17 of the Indian Constitution has abolished untouchability

and made its practice in any form punishable. To give force to this

ena<.:"tment; the Protection of Civil Rights Act was passed in 1955 and a

renamed Untouchability (Offences) Act in 1976. To give a better

representation to the Dalits in the parliamentary democracy, out of 42

parliamentary constituencies in Andhra Pradesh, six have been reserved

for Dalits; of the 294 assembly constituencies, 39 seats have similarly

been reserved. The enforcing of any kind of social disability such as

denying access to any shop, restaurant, hotel, public entertainment or

-"'Census of India. I'J'Jl. Series I. p. II.

·'7

For a comprehensive hislory of lhcsc caslcs. sec E. Thurslon. ( 'astes and Trihes of .\'outhern India. 7 volumes. Govern men I Press Madras. ( 1 'JO'J). I 'J'Jll: K.S. Singh . . \'checluletl Castes. Anlhropological Survey of India. Oxford University Press. New Delhi. I')')(,: S. K. Chaltcrjcc. The Scheduled Castes in India (Gyan Publishing House. New Delhi).

35

Table: 1.1

· Distribution of Dalits Population as well as % of Dalit Population 1961-1991.

1961 1971 1981 -19~1

-· Total Da1it % of Dalits to Total Dalit ~ of Dalits to Totar Dalit % of Dalits Total Dalit % of Dalits Population Total Population Total Population to Total Population to Total

Population of Population of Population Population State State .. of State of State ·

All India 64,442,275 14.67 80,005,398 14.60 104,754,623 15.75 I ,38,223,277 16.33

' Andhra 4,973,616 13.82 5,774,548 13.27 7,961,730 14.87 10,592,066 15.92 Pradesh

-, Source: Chatte~jce, S.K. The Scheduled Castes in India, 1996, p.1117.

36

denying the use of any road, river, well, tank, water tap, bathing ghat,

cremation ground, etc., attracts the provisions of the Protection of Civil

Rights Act. 3x The practice of untouchabiiity, however, still persists. In

the Telengana region, the Dalits live the life 'ayaa banchan dora' (thy

servant only, .lord). Coastal Andhra and Rayalaseema are also not free of

these demeaning concepts. A study conducted by the Osmania

University, Hyderabad, is revealing. It says that the Dalits are still

discriminated against by the upper castes in the neighbouring villages of

Hyderabad and Nizamabad districts. It says: "Separate sitting

arrangements were made in the village schools, they were not allowed to

draw water from the public wells, not allowed to enter into the temples

and pass through the main village thoroughfares. "39 A survey conducted

in ·Chittoor district of Rayalaseema by the Ambedkar Centenmy

Celebrations Committee, Hyderabad, IS further evidence of the

continuing practice of untouchability. It reveals that in 249 villages there

were 122 eateries which kept separate glasses for the Dalits. In 80

villages the Dalits were not allowed to enter the temples. In 16 viJlages

they are not allowed to wear chappals while walking in the upper caste

streets or locations. In almost all the villages the barbers do not serve

them.40

The total economy of agriculture, industry and the state

administration ts dominated by the upper castes, mainly the Kamma,

Reddy, Kapu, Brahmana and Velama, upon whom the impoverished

J• Report of the Commission for SCs & STs (henceforth RCSCST). 2Xth Report, I9,U.-87, p. 219.

·''' R C S C S T, I ') 7 4 - 7 (, and I 97 (, - 7 7 . p . I I o .

... Nalupu (Telugu), 1-30 June I 991.

Dalits are dependent. The Dalits are predominantly agricultural

labourers and continue to pursue the traditional extreme forms of varna­

or caste-based modes of labour like velti or veuichakiri in Telengana

and palern in Rayalaseema and coastal Andhra regions. Vetti or

vettichakiri is a form of forced bonded labour. "Velli or vettichakiri

(begar) in all its myriad manifestations is the most striking character of

feudalism in Telengana".41 Vetlichakiri is not confined to the Dalits

alone; all other artisan classes like toddy-tapper, dhobi and barber have

to serve the upper castes for measly returns. The crudest form of

ve({ichakiri, imposed on the Dalits, is called jeetam. The jeetagadu

(permanent bonded servant) mostly lives half-naked, with low calorie

intake; his children can never even think of education.42

The counterpart of jeetam in coastal Andhra and Rayalaseema,

though perhaps not as degrading, is palem or permanent farm servant.

Such workers are variously called kamatagadu, noukaru, jeetagadu. The

pa/ern has to perform a wide variety of arduous services, both in the

field and in the domestic sphere. "They have to work in the field or look

after the livestock and engage themselves throughout the day and they

feed the cattle and sleep at the cattleshed itself in the nights."43 Many

become palem before even the age of ten years, and remain in that

position even when they are sixty. The Report of the Commission for

Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (hereafter abbreviated as

41 K. Balagopal, l'rohinxs in the Political Economy of Axrarian Classes and Conflicts (Perspectives. Hyderabad. I<JXX). p. 27.

41 K. llaiah. The .\"tale and Repressive Culture: The Andhra l~·xperience. (Swecha Prachuranalu. Hyderabad. I'JX<J). p. (>2.

•J Uma Ramaswamy. "Scheduled Castes in Andhra: Some Aspects of Social Change"". EPW. 20 July I<J74.

RCSCST), 1965-66, has contradicted the Andhra government's claim

that the practice of bonded labour, which was more prevalent in

Srikakularn, Visakhaptnam, West Godavari and East Godavari, has died

out, and asked the state government to release the appropriate data on

bonded labour. 44

The green revolution has also contributed to the dominance of the

upper caste feudal elements. While enriching them, the green revolution

has brought no benefits worth the name to the landless Dalits. What is

worse, it has increased the landlessness and rural unemployment among

them. Because of the green revolution that involved the use of tractors

and chemical fertilizers, millions of Dalits who subsisted as share­

croppers, tenancy farmers and day labourers have become economically

obsolete. Consequently they have been driven from the land by

imminent starvation and eviction. Even poverty alleviation programmes

like the Integrated Rural Development Programme (IRDP) and the

National Rural Employment Programme (NREP) have hardly scratched

the surface in redu~ting their poverty.45 A survey by the International

Labour Organization points out that "in all the states, it was the

agricultural labour-the landless and near-landless families who

. th f h I "46 constitute e core o t e rura poverty.

It is the common finding of different studies on the socro­

economic impact of the green revolution that "the green revolution has

44 Quoted in Sumanta Banerjee. India "s .\"immering Revolution: The

Naxalite Uprising (Select Book Service Syndicate. New Delhi. IIJX4). p. 5.

·" D.N. Dhanagare. l~·Pw. May l<JK7 (Annual Number). 4

" Ibid.

had a contradictory impact on rural employment and agricultural

wages"47

and that it has produced new conflicts between the upper caste

landlords and the landless Dalit agricultural labourers.4R In order to

modify these distortions brought about by the green revolution and in

order to stabilize the relations between the upper caste feudal elements

and the Dalits, in the early seventies, new agencies were devised such as

the Small Farmer Development Agency (SFDA) and the Marginal

Farmers and Agricultural Labour Programme (MFAL). These agencies,

expected to generate additional income and employment to the rural

poor, haye not had a notable impact on Dalit earnings.49

~

In 1960, the Andhra Pradesh Ceiling on Agricultural Holdings

Bill was passed with the objective of reducing the concentration of land.

But in its implementation there were many lacunae. The land records

were never maintained properly by the upper caste landowners. Aided

by the State machinery they successfully defeated efforts at land

redistribution. Hundreds of acres of waste land are still under the

landlords' authority. Whenever the Dalits tried to cultivate some of this

'Yaste land, they were forcibly evicted. In the end of the sixties,

thousands of Dalits and poor peasants were arrested for waste land

grabbing. A number of agricultural labourers were arrested in Guntur,

Krishna, Nellore, Warangal, Cuddapah, Adilabad and Medak districts

4? Ibid. 4x Apart from Dhanagarc's study there arc many other studies on this

subject. the more important ones being Hari Sharma in K. Gough and Hari Sharma (cd. ). Imperialism and Revol11tion in So 11th Asia (Monthly Review Press. New York. I 973). .

·•·• G. Ram Reddy. "The Politics of Accommodation: Caste. Class and Dominance in Andhra Pradesh". in R. Frankie Francine and M.S.A. Rao (cd.). /)ominance and State /'oll'er in l\1odern India (Oxford University Press. New Delhi. 199!1).

40

during the 1969 banjara land agitation. 50 ln Nallagonda district,

Addagudam village, 450 acres of government land was occupied by the

Dalits, but they were evicted with a lathi charge by the police. 51 In

lbrahimpatnam taluk, Rachuluru village, nearly 20 Dalit families were

evicted from the occupied waste land and their erops were destroyed by

the upper castes with the help of the police. 52 ln another case, 300 acres

of cultivable land was forcibly taken from the Dalits by the government

in the name of rehabilitation. 5.1 The general picture that emerges from

this depiction of violence inflicted on the Dalits by the upper castes and

police force is one of nightmarish poverty, humiliation and oppression

inflicted upon more than half of India's rural population by a majority of

rich landlords and money-lenders, through squeezing out inch by inch

both land and labour from them and paying them in exchange just

enough to keep them working on the land. 54

In other sectors of the economy such as manufacturing, industry,

trade, construction, commerce, transport and communication, the Dalits'

employment opportunities have been virtually blocked, forcing them

either to pursue the traditional occupations or to remain unemployed.

According to the Census of India 1971, in all these sectors, in the fifties

and sixties, . only I 0 per cent Dalits were represented, despite the

5" Andhra Pradesh Legislative Assembly Debates. 4 March I 970. This

matter was raised by Vemayya (MLA). According to him. the number of arrested agitators was as follows: Adilabad 174: Krishna 502: Guntur 1044; Warangal NIH.

51 A.P. Legislative Assembly Debates. 2M July 1970. 52 Ibid .. 14th December 1970.

~-' Ibid. 54 S. Banerjee. p. 6

41

Scheduled Castes

1971

1991

Scheduled Tribes

1971

1991

Non SC & ST

1971

1991

Source:

. "' TableJ .. -~/ ---~----

Workforce Participation by Different

Categories in Andhra Pradesh

II III IV Va Vb VI Total Main Cultivators Agricultural Ag. Allied Mining & Household Other than Construction

Workers Labourer Activitie_s Quarring Industry HH Industry

2977127 -l24990 2126833 74771 16572 57522 55701 100.00 14.28 71.44 2.51 0.56 1.93 1.87

5171920 660585 3726590 40853 -l6896 50833 128857 )00.00 12.77 72.05 0.79 0.91 0.98 25.73

78I838 282239 383595 31060 1943 3I365 10163 100.00 -36.10 ... 49:06 . 3.91 ·0:25 -l.OI 1.30

213098-l 877806 992358 46369 9908 55786 34195 I 00.00 -'1.19 46.57 2.18 0.46 2.62 1.60

1-l24703-l 5087472 -l318257 487620 77117 784083 689371 100.00 35.71 30.31 3.42 0.5-l 5.50 4.84

211-l2578 632776 69062I I 4I 15410 190387 8-l8888 1393475 100.00 32.66 32.66 1.96 0.90 -l.02 0.91

Chandra Bhan Prasad., The Dalit Agenda and Politics in India ( 194 7-1995), p.31. (Unpublished).

42

36474 1.23

71988 1.39

3326 0.43

12169 0.57

245513 1.72

386511 1.83

VII VIII IX Trade and Transport Other Commerce & Storage Services

29084 51207 101963 0.98 1.72 3.42

85065 111990 2-l8263 1.64 2.17 . -l.80

I7544 60I9 H584 2.24 0.77 1.87

33636 22510 -l61-l-l 1.58 1.06 2. I 7

936009 336298 128730-J 6.57 2 36 9.04

1783·~90 ES9S-t2 2205491 8.44 3.12 10.-13!

-------~

constitutional safeguards given· for their employment. 55 Employment

through reservation in the public sector establishments, which the Dalits

secured at the time of independence, has always been an important

factor in the advancement of Dalit consciousness. But the fact remains

that the non-implementation of reservation in th~ public sector and the

non-sharing of reservations burden by the private sector have both

increased the incidence of unemployment among the educated Dalits.

The Elayaperumal Committee on Untouchability, Economic and

Educational Development of the Scheduled Castes, which submitted its

report to the Government of India in 1969, severely blamed the Andhra

Pradesh government for its utter failure even to furnish the necessary

data, in spite of reminders from the central government. The committee

observed that the Andhra government was particularly guilty of not

fulfilling its minimum constitutional obligations to reserve 14 per cent

of the posts in a number of state departments. 56 There were 3,196 Dalit ' constables but one Superintendent of Police (SP) against the sanctioned

strength of thirty-four, one Director of Inspector General (DIG) against

the actual strength of six, and no Inspector General (IG) against the

h f 57 • I 1. I strengt o two posts, m t 1e Po Ice Department. Apparent y,

meritorious and competent candidates among the Dalits were not getting

due recognition on accoupt of caste prejudice and other kinds of ~

discriminatory attitudes of the upper castes.

"RCSCST 1975-7(, and l'J7o-77. Appendix VII. pp.213 to 217.

''· U. Ramaswamy.

'"·· W.N. Kubcr. Amhedkar: A Critical .'itudy (People's Publishing House. New Delhi. I 99 I). p. 325.

One reason cited for not fulfilling the reservation quota in the

public sector was the lack of qualified candidates from the Dalit

community and their low levels of education. This is a reflection of the

gross failure of the post-independence State and its low governmental

outlays for the Dalit educational development. According to the Census

. of India 1961, literacy rate among the Dalits was 8.50 per cent

compared to the all-India DaJit literacy rate of 10.70 per cent. 58

The present state of the Dalits is a reflection on the failure of the

post-independence State to carry out its promised objectives of

banishing the deep-seated economic and social inequalities. Over the

decades, the socio-economic environment of the Dalits has increasingly

deteriorated. In the early seventies, Andhra Pradesh was severely

affected by drought, which ravaged 19 of the 21 districts in the State.

The Dalits, who subsisted entirely on agricultural labour, were the worst

affected. Many perished in rural Andhra itself. Many of those who

survived migrated en masse to nearby towns in search of employment as

rickshaw...;pullers· and coolies. Some have also taken to theft and other

illegal means for bare survival.

There have also been many "grain looting" reports, and attempts

to hold up vehicles to collect money from the upper castes who amassed

wealth and hoarded the grains. In 1972, near Nandigama village in

Krishna district about 200 Dalits of Raghavapuram village looted

seventy bags of paddy from the godowns of the upper castes. 59 In a

village near Mahaboobnagar district, when an impoverished Dalit boy

'~ RCSCST 1975-7o and l'J7o-77.

~~The Hindu (Madras). 1-t August l'J72.

committed ~ small theft, the frenzied upper castes ''made the naked

procession of all Dalit women in that village".60 Reacting to report~ nf

the Dalits' indulgence in looting and theft, the L'len agriculture minister,

P. Thimma Reddy described them as thieves and said that they should

be kicked.61 An immense furore followed both in Parliament and in the

State Assembly in the wake of this statement. The Collector and

Superintendent of Police of Krishna district admitted that "these

offences seemed to have been committed by those who were affected by

the drought conditions. "62 It may be noted in this context that more than

85 per cent of the Dalits live in rural areas. Their basic amenities are

insignificant. Only 3.8 per cent of the Dalits in the state have access to

electricity and safe drinking water and toilet facilities. 63

The growing acute socio-economic discontent of the Dalits and

landless peasants inevitably created objective conditions for the

emergence of a powerful radical Naxalite movement in West Bengal and

And.hra and the Dalit Panthers in Maharashtra. To diffuse this

enormously accumulating discontent among the Dalits and to divert their

attention from the powerful forces of'Naxalism and Dalit Panthers, the

upper caste rulers initiated the political process of State-based social

services. In 1971 the Garibi Hatao (Away with Poverty) Programme was

announced, and in 1975 the 20-point Economic Programme. These anti­

poverty programmes included the implementation of agricultural land

ceiling and speedier redistribution of surplus land, compilation of land

'"'Lok Sahba Debates. 4 April 1968.

"' Ibid .. 8 May 1968. (Debate on this statement continued for many days).

":The Hindu (Madras). 20 August I 972.

''' C.B. Prasad. "The Dalit Agenda and Politics in India (1947-l<J'JS)" (unpublished).

45

records, stepping up of provision of house sites for landless Dalits,

liquidation of rural indebtedness, abolition of the system of bonded

labour, review of the laws of minimum agricultural wages, supply of

essential commodities, and books and stationery at controlled prices to

Dalit students in the welfare hostels. 64

These preferential polices or programmes of the government,

though not far-going enough, created a fundamental change in the ' -

traditional socio-economic structures, with implications for Dalit

consciousness and their political mobilization. The foremost such

change occurred in the traditional agrarian structure. State intervention

through the commercialization of agriculture, initiation of redistribute

refonns, and opening up of avenues other than agriculture made the

Dalits slowly to withdraw from their traditional Varna caste-based

extreme fonns of traditional velli or vellichakiri and patent occupations

to being independent agrarian wage earners or daily-wagers. According

to the Census of India 1961, the proportion of Dalits as agricultural

labour was 61 per cent. The annual budget of a Mala family at the time

was just Rs. 580, of which Rs. 420 were earned through agricultural

labour.65 In 1971, the percentage of Dalits in agricultural labour had

increased to 71 per cent and the trend continued in 1981. Also, Dalit

family earnings at the time were Rs. I ,200 to Rs. 2,000 per annum

earned from agricultural labour. 66

'·' RCSCST 1975-7(, and l'J7(•-77.

''~ U. Ramaswamy. op. cit.

t<o V. Pushpa Kumari. /'uverty Allel'ialion and Rural 1/arijans (Discovery Publishing House. New Delhi. 1991 ). p. 12.

A macro-study of the impact of this shift in the agrarian structure

in Andhra, by Nancharaiah, in a delta village in coastal Andhra which

was exposed to the green revolution and various other developmental

measures initiated by the government, for the period 1971-72 to 1981-

82, says that out of 138 main Dalit male workers, 80 were agricultural

labourers. Out of them, 42 worked as pal ern before 1971-72. Twelve of

them gave up pa/ern by 1971-71 and by 1981-82 there were only five

persons who worked as palern. Nancharaiah concludes that "there was

an appreciable decline in the number of bonded labour of palern and

became daily wagers".67 This is an indication that the people who were

bonded serfs are becoming tenants and small peasants with tiny plots

and cultivators.

Welfare programmes like health, drinking and housing sites,

credit facilities through cooperative societies and banks, self­

employment programmes, development of transport and communication

facilities have also given some relief to the Dalits. By the end of 1972-

,73 OVer one iakh hOUSe sites had been provided in the State.6M Joining in

the welfare hostels, availing of educational facilities and scholarships

also ~l0·.viy ii:t~reased their literacy rate. In 1971 the Dalits' literacy rate

was 10.7 per cent which increased to 17.7 per cent in 1981 and to 31.6

per cent in 1991 (Table 1.3). These various development programmes

undoubtedly have brought considerable minimal mobility in the socio­

economic conditions of the Dalits. But this relative exceptional change

has shown no progress in relation to the Dalits' legitimate expected

''7

The whole information has been restated from G. Nancharaiah. ··scheduled Castes as Agricullural Labourers··. Social C"hange. September I ~X<J. vol. I~- no.l. pp. J 1-41.

r.x Amrita Bazar Patrika (Calcutta). IO December I<J74 .

.. n

share. The mass of Dalits still continue to be concentrated in the less

skilled most oppressive occupational categories.

Table 1.3

Literacy rate among Dalits in AP and India 1981 Census

Year Andhra Pradesh Dalit (I)

1961 8.50

1971 10.70

1981 17.70

Source: (I) Census Reports 1961 to 1981

(2) RC SC ST, 1986-K7

All India Dalits (2)

10.27

14.67

21.38

The occupational mobility of Dalits in Andhra Pradesh from the

mid-seventies has been stagnant. They have been subjected to

disproportionate levels of unemployment, poverty, illiteracy and land

alienation. The discontent engendered by this underdevelopment also

brought about retaliatory violence and atrocities from the upper castes.

For the Dalits the rhetoric of land refonns and land redistribution has

remained an unrealized dream. According to the Andhra Pradesh Land

Refonns Act I 972, the maximum allowed land per family is I 0 acres of

cultivable land and 25 acres of uncultivable land. The state government

itself has estimated that it would get nearly 10 lakh acres of surplus land

for redistribution among the landless D~lits and other low castes. With

all that, it was estimated in 1978 that as much as 15.62 lakh acres was in

4X

excess of the prescribed ceiling.r.'J Only 5.94 lakh acres of land was

actually distributed to the agricultural landless labourers, the Dalits.

tribals and the backward classes. Where the Dalits were concerned, 2.1

lakh families secured 2.2 lakh acres of land, i.e. an average of one acre

per family . The agricultural census of 1988 revealed that there were

2,000 fanners in Andhra Pradesh holding I 00 acres and above. 70 Most

of the land surrendered by the landlords was unproductive and unfit for

cultivation. Even when the Dalits claimed this waste land they were

forcibly thwarted and the land was taken back. 71 Where a supposed land

redistribution took place, the title deeds {palla) were distributed to the

landless Dalits but the upper caste landlords actually controlled the land

ownership. According to the Census of India 1991, 89.05 per cent of the

Dalits are marginal and small category landholders. "The average size of

the holdings for the Dalits was nearly 0.91 hectares as against the state

average of 1.56 hectares."72

Though the Government of India has passed to Bonded Labour

System (Abolition) Act, 1976, according to a recent ( 1989) study, "the

estimated total incidence of bonded labour in Andhra Pradesh is

3,25,000 (4.96 per cent ofthe total number of agricultural labour) which

is next to that of Utter Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh. Out of the total

incidence in Andhra Pradesh, the Telengana region accounts for

6" S.P. Ranga Rao ... Land Reforms and The Scheduled Castes: Development

in Andhra Pradesh" Paper presented at the Nationai Seminar on Land Reforms and the Scheduled Castes held at Indian Social Institute. New De I hi. December. I 6 December I') 'H• ( unp ubI ish ed).

'"Ibid. 71 Ibid. 7 ~ C.B. Prasad. op. cit

4')

Table 1.4

Saze-Ciass Distribution of Landholdings and Operated Area in Andhra Pradesh 1980-81, 1985-86 & 1990-91

\iumbcr of Holdings (in thousands) Operated Area (in · 000 he ct.)

Marginal Small Semi- Medium Large Total Marginal Small Semi- Medium _arge Tow! medium Medium

1980-81 All Social ~80-t 1951 117-t 646 155 7370 1887 2412 3261 3978 27lJ5 I-DI3

Groups 51.61 26.-t7 15.93 8.77 2.10 100.00 13.18 16.85 22.78 27.79 19.53 1no on Non SC & 2%8 1666 977 570 l-t6 5967 1510 2000 27-t2 35-t6 2fi-t9 12-127

ST -19 ~-~ 27.92 16.37 9.55 2.45 I 00.00 12.15 16.09 22 06 2X 53 21 12 )()() 00

Scheduled (,2') 176 95 27 3 930 271 257 2-18 153 55 ')8-t

(SICS (i- (,_, 18.92 10.22 2.90 032 I 00. oo 27.5-t 26.12 25.28 15 55 .5.59 I OO.!Hl

Scheduled 20i 109 102 -t9 6 473 106 155 271 279 91 90.2 Tribes -t' ';6 2)04 21.56 10.36 1.27 )()(). 00 11.75 17.18 30.0-t 30 9 3 I! ){)9 I 00.00

)990-91 All Social 5210 1972 13-t5 64-t 118 9290 2368 2827 36-to ... ---J I I I 1!\.JX J.J.j.j(,()

Groups 56 IIX 2123 1-t.-t8 6.93 1.27 100.00 16.38 19.55 25.17 26 12 127X 1 PO. no Non SC & -t!l6!U 1596.1 1121.2 571 111.2 7-t68.2 1872 229-t.5 305-t.6 3366 1 17-15.2 12333

ST 5-t -ti 21 37 15.01 7.65 IA9 I 00.00 1518 18.60 2-1.77 27JO 14 15 100.0 Scheduled S'll 217 103 2-t 2 1183 3-t6 306 26-t 13-t 32 11182] Cases 7o6S 1837 8.73 2.0-t 0.18 100.00 32.00 32.00 2H2 1238 2 9-t I Oil.OO Scheduled 30ii 158 121 -t9 5 639 150 226 321 277 71 10-15

Tribes -'"7 83 2UO 18.90 7.67 0.80 )()() 00 IU6 21.65 30.70 26 -t9 6.80 )00 00

Source: Chandra Bhan Prasad .. The Dalit Agenda and Politics in India (1947-1995). p.32. (Lnpublished).

50

I, 70,000 which is more than half of the total estimated bonded labourers

. h "73 m t estate.

The Andhra Pradesh Scheduled Caste Cooperative Finance

Corporation Limited was set up by the government in 1974 as an

exclusive financial corporation for Dalits. Its primary objective was to

set up a comprehensive network of employment-oriented industries like

cottage and small scale industries by providing required technological

know-how and marginal assistance, for the establishment of the Dalits'

own industries. The corporation advanced some Rs. 1.41 crore during

the period 1973-74 to 1975-76. But the banks' actual participation was

only Rs. 4.5 lakh by the year 1975.74 A study analysing the ownership

pattern of 78 industries in Andhra Pradesh discloses that there was no

industrial ownership of Dalits up to 1980.75

The literacy rate among the Dalits remams stagnant. School

enrolment of Dalit children in fact deteriorated, as the data for 1974-75

shows. The enrolment of Dalits in classes 1-5 was 4.4 lakh and in

classes 7-8 it was 59,000.76 The welfare hostels were closed in 1974-75.

There were at the time 46 boys' hostels and 22 girls' hostels with 4,458

students. 77 The dropout rate among the Dalits was 76.5 per cent during

1988-89. The total school-going Dalit pupils in the age group of 6-14

years was 18.4 lakh in March 1995. The total Dalit literacy rate in the

73 llaiah. p. (,5.

74'RCSCST 1975-7fi and 197(,-77. pp. 211-17.

'~G. Ram Reddy. op. cit.

''· RCSCST 1975-7(, and I'J7(,-77 .

. , Andhra Pradesh State Legislative Assembly Debates. 2(, August 19!15.

51

state according to the 1991 census was 3 1.59 per cent, compared to the

national average of 37.41 per cent.

Some of the reasons for the low literacy level among the Dalits

are: the shortage of facilities in government-run schools, the expensive

private education, the state government's indifference to the problems of

the Dalits, and the poverty of the Dalit families who prefer to get some

economic benefit out of their children's employment rather than send

them to school. The literacy rate among the Dalit women is the lowest.

As Ambedkar says, "Malnutrition would make a person weaker in body

and result in a premature death. Likewise if she/he is not educated.

she/he is reduced to slavery. Due to lack of education women have

become living corpses. Mentally they are slaves." 711

Their poverty and high level of illiteracy have become the

, stumbling-blocks for the Dalits' employment. RCSCST. 1975-76 and

fil976-77 says that the Dalits' recruitment in Andhra is not satisfactory.

jThe Dalits' representation in Andhra Pradesh government Class 1 and II " services was less than even half of the percentage prescribed for them.79

~ Also, during 1976-6 and 1976-77 the RCSCST received about 29,000

6 representations from the Dalit employees alleging various types of

service-related grievances at the all-India level.110 A study conducted in

1981 reveals that out of 5. 7 lakh government employees in Andhra

Pradesh, the Dalits comprised only 83.000. thP bulk of them fonning

'" Taken from Ujawala Jadhav. ··oalit Women: Issues and Rcdrcssal" in P.G. Jogdand (cd.). J>alir u·omen in /nclia lssut's and l'erspecfives (Gyan Publishing House. New Delhi. 1')')5)

''' RCSCST 1975-7(, and I'JU>-77.

""Ibid.

52

class IV employees as sweepers sanitary workers. In gazetted posts, the

Dalits constituted just 1500 out of 28,000 posts. 111 According to the

Andhra Pradesh Employment Exchange statistics, by the end of 1988,

there were some 2. 9 lakh educated Dalits registered as unemployed in

various departm~nts. Meanwhile, 14,000 posts were vacant. Accordir~g

to the All-India Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes Rights

Protection Society report, there were 4.1 lakh educated Dalits (only SCs)

unemployed by January 1995. Further, 4,888 class l, 19,007 class II,

15,86 class III and other I ,051 backlog posts were yet to be filled by the

Andhra government. In total there were some 26,536 backlog posts and

Dalits were not filled into the posts. 112 According to the Andhra Pradesh

Employment Directorate, there were some 4.6 Jakh Dalit unemployed in

the state by February 1996.11·'

Inevitably, there has been simmering discontent among the Dalits

and an assertion for social dignity and equality. The increasing level of

their consciousness, which led to protest at every level, caused tensions

between the upper ·castes and the Dalits. The decentralization of the

political process, and restructuring of panchayat raj system have given a

greater role to the numerical votes which altogether changed the rural

power structures. But in many cases the Dalits have been prevented

from democratically exercising their universal franchise. They have

been subjected to violent retaliation by the upper castes. Some 238 cases

were registered under the PCR Act in Andhra Pradesh during J 98 J and

~• G. Ram Reddy. op. cit.

~= l~'nadu (Telugu daily ) 2(, December I 'J'J'i (Hyderabad)

"' Andhra Pradesh Employment Directorate. Report. Government of Andhra Pradesh. Hyderabad. I <J<J(,.

m 1984 the number increased to 274.114 We also need to take into

account the fact that not all cases are registered with the police.

Summing Up

Despite the State-initiated welfarism and the modernization

process during the past decades, the Dalits, particularly in the rural areas

have not witnessed any improvement in their lot. In fact, the process of

modernization and development has invariably reinforced the

dominance and arrogance of the upper caste landlords and the capitalists

who have usurped and monopolized all the advantages. However, the

various development programmes, particularly reservations in the public

sector which Dalits secured at the time of the post-independence state

formation, have yielded some results, beginning in the seventies. The

changes in the agrarian structure also led to the Dalits slowly detaching

themselves from the traditional modes of bonded labour to being wage

earners. A change for the better in some segments of the Dalit populace

may, thus, be seen. What is more important, however, is that the flood

of change has brought about a new consciousness among them regarding

their identity and their rights as citizens of post-independence India,

with a right to economic independence, social dignity and self-respect.

" RCSCST l9H(•-H7